Bed



AMay 15, 1945. w. c. BORM-luE'r-rl-:Rl 2,376,114

BED

Filed Nov. 20, 1943 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 y v BY fwn/Ess.' M L Wr M ATTO R N EYS May 15, 1945. w. c, BRNHUETTER 2,376,114

BED

Filed' Nov.' 2o, 1943 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 lNvaN-roR MLU/m4 C`. oAN/v/z/frrE/e v J- a ATTORNEYS W. C. BORNHUETTER May l5, 1945.-

BED

5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 20, 1945 Inl ATTORNEYS L i. s t

- a modification of the invention. v

Patented May `15, 1.945

Es PATE-Nr ortica l BEZD i William' `Charles"Bornhuetter, Maplewood, N..J.

l 'Application'November20,1943,SerialNoI 511,008

'4 claims'. (c1. 52s8) This invention relates to vimprovements iny furniture and more specically to beds'. v

` One of the important 'features offthe'invention yresides in a-bed construction in which the lparts are standardized to make -theminterchangeable to facilitate-the ready assembly of dierentsizes and designs of beds, couches and' like articles of y furniture. r-

Another feature ofthe invention is to provide a bed in which the head, foot, and side rails-are all sep-arable from the corner supporting legs which enables a'ffurniture dealer `to maintain a ystock of various sizesand designs of rails and to readily assemblea bed to suit the needs and artistic taste 'ofvacustom'en f l A furtherobject of lthe invention'is the'y provision of a bed embodying `a strong andrigid separable lock connection between the* ends of the railsancl the corner legs.

, A still further/feature ofA the invention resides v in a, bed in which the. headboard is interchangeable with the headrail to facilitate the changing of the design of headboard, thus'makingit unnecessary for the l owner; of ythe bed* to purchase an entire new bed 'when thecolor scheme or style of bedroomfurniture is changed.

Tour cornerr legs i4 to which the aforesaid rails are releasably 'lockedin ranovel manner'to be 'presently described. 4The side rails I I-I I are of a-length to suit the Tuser of thebed, that is, if the bed is intendedfor-afcliild, the side rails willV be relatively short,v if for a `medium height adult, they may be of average length, whilel for an 'exceptionally tall person 4the same may be 'of `a length greater than aver-age. `Also,` the head v`ancl'foot'rails may be of alength to meet the requirements cfa single; three quarters, or double hed to suittheneeds of the user.

lOther-novel features oftheinvention'will become apparent vas. the following specication is read s in conjunction withy they `accompanying drawings, in which, :y

."The'rails II-II, I2,.an'd I3 are of like construction andhave straightends. Preferably the rails arewmade of meta-lchannel ystockand each includes a relatively wide vertical riser I5,,a. top

inwardly-extending flange I6, and4 a relatively 'narrow inwardlyextending bottom flange I1. A

portion Iof the'riser I5 is shown` as inwardly offset :to form a'recessedl portion I8in which an ornamented plastic orwoody panel (notshown) may be fcountersunk" for decorative purposes. The

.endsof each rail' I I-;I I,y I2,: and ia'are provided with vmetal locking plates fIi-l-1I9 which lare welded, rivetedor Aotherwise xedly secured to the inner side of the riser I5. Each-platey extends beyond the end of-the rail to provide a .tongue portion 2i) having faslot v2| extending Figure 1 is aV perspective `view of-my'improved y bed in set-up position.

Figure 2 is anV enlarged rVertical sectional view 4 'Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional View on the line 3 3 of .Figure 1.

'Figure 4 is an enlarged.y horizontal sectional- Figure 1'0 is a perspective view'of'the lockingl key member embodied in the construction shown in Figure 9.

YReferring to the drawingsby reference characters, the numeral I0 designatesjjmy improved y, bed inits entirety Whichincludeswidentical slde 'badare locking key members, 28. `key member 21 and 28" comprises-a metalkey body .composed `of at right angularly'disposed downwardlyfrom the to-p edge. thereof. The free end of'each tongue portion 20 is. rounded asat 23to.facilitate they insertiony .into its" related leg I4 as will be presently explained.

Each corner leg I4I is preferably.,constructed ofsrnetalnand is .of hollow construction whichis open at its top `and closedat'its bottom. The

leg I4is square in cross section and has-.an upper vertical bodylportion 24 and a, lower downwardly tapered po-rtion25. Vertical elongated slots 25 are, provided in two adjacent rightfangular side walls of theupper body portion 24, the width and llength of said slotsbeing -equal tofor .slightly greater than thethickness andheight respectively of the tongueZll which it receives. vThefslot 26 in each wall is outwardlyoffset with respect to its longitudinal mid-portion so that the joints between the endsV of the rails and the ylegs will 'beadjacent the' outer exposed side, faces of the legs asbest illustrated in Figures 1, 4 andV 5.

Associated rwith the respective legs at the foot 'of thefbed IIJ are locking key members?! .and

associated with the legs I4 at' the'head, of said Each locking key portions 29-29 to which a flat cap 30 is iixedly secured. 'Ihe cap 30 is preferably made of plastic for decorative purposes and covers the open top of the leg when the locking key is in locking position therein. The key portions are of a width equal to the respective widths of the inner adjacent walls of the leg which they are adapted to engage as shown in Figure 4.

To effect a locking of adjacent ends of two right angularly disposed rails together, the tongues 20-20 of the rails are respectively inserted through the slots 26-26 of the leg I4, whereupon the key member 21 or 28, dependingupon whether the connection is between the foot or head rail and the side rails, is inserted downwardly through the open top of the leg, whereupon the key portions 29-29 respectively enter the slots 2|-2l of the tongues 20-20 as best seen in Figures 2 and 3. The flat cap 39 rests upon the top of the leg when it is fully inserted therein to close the saine and impart decoration to the corner leg connection. Thus, when all four rails are similarly connected to their related corner legs, the lbed will assume a rigid set-up position as illustrated in Figure l, wherein the straight ends of rails abut the exterior surfaces of the legs to which they respectively abut to impart added bracing of the joints.

The locking key members 28-28 are provided with upwardly extending pins 3| which are round in cross section. Each pin 28 is preferably made of metal and extends through an opening 32 in the cap 3B. The lower end of the pin 3l is disposed in the crotch between the right angularly disposed key portions 29-29 to which it is welded' or otherwise permanently secured as at 33.

The upwardly extending portions of the pins 3l--3l respectively enter sockets 3A- 34 provided in a headboard 35, The sockets 311-34 open through the bottom of the headboard 35 and are so spaced to receive the respective pins, the bottom of the headboard resting upon the top flange I6 of the head rail I2 to vrelieve the weight of the same from the pins. The pin` and socket connections between the head corner legs and the headboard are snug and rigid to prevent loose play therebetween.

In Figures 9 and l0 of the drawings, I have illustrated a modified form of my invention wherein the head, foot and side rails are each provided at their ends with a pair of spaced superposed locking plates I9a. The extending tongue :portions 20a of the locking plates are provided with slots 21a, The corner leg 24a, has two of its adjacent sides each provided with a pair of spaced vertical slots 26a-26a through which the respective tongues 20d extend. The locking key member 21a for locking the pairs of locking plates of two adjacent rails is similar in construction to the locking key member 21 with the exception that the right angularly disposed key portions 29d-28a are provided with vertical slots 36 to receive the upper locking tongues 26a, which slots are brought into registration with the Slots 26a during the initial assembly of the leg 24a and the ends of adjacent rails to be connected thereto.` The slots `36 are of a length and width slightly larger than the respective height and thickness of the locking tongue Za which they receive. When the locking key member 21a is fully inserted into the leg 24a the lower edge of the key portions 29a, interlock with the walls of the slots Zia of the lower locking tongues 20a while the key portions 20a, directly above the slots 3B enter the slots 2Ia of the upper locking tongues and interlock with the walls thereof.

The top edge of each of the legs 24 and 24a is provided with a struck-in portion 31 to facilitate the insertion of an instrument beneath the cap 30 to pry the locking key member upwardly when it is desired to disconnect the rails from the legs.

From the foregoing description and accompanying drawings, it will be understood that various size beds may be rapidly assembled by a furniture store by maintaining a stock of head, foot, and side rails of different lengths. Also various designs of furniture may be made by a varied stock of rails such as twin beds, lounges, couches, and

other articles of bed-like furniture. Further, by reason of the removable connection of the headvboard with the head corner legs, various styles of headboards may be interchangeably associated with `the bed which enables a salesman to display a variety of bed styles to a prospective customer, and which permits the user of a bed to change the style from time to timeto meet his or her artistic taste and to conform to the period furnishings of a bedroom.

It will be understood that should the purchaser of a bed desire a foot board, the foot corner legs may also be provided with locking key members 28 and the foot board with pin-receiving sockets 34.

While I have shown and described what I consider to be the preferred embodiment of my invention, I wish it to be understood that such ychanges in design and materials as come within the scope of the appended claims may be resorted to if desired, without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the ap pended claims,

Having thus described the invention. what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

l.' In a bed construction, a tubular supporting leg having a pair of vertical slots therein spaced at approximately ninety degrees, a pair of horizontal rails arranged substantially at right angle to each other, locking tongues carried by said rails and extending through the respective slots, a single key member insertable through the top of the tubular leg, and interlocking means between the key member and said tongues for rigidly connecting the rails and leg together.

2. In a bed construction as set Aforth in claim l in which the interlocking means comprises a pair of right angularly disposed key portions on the key member having intertting engagement with slots provided in the respective locking tongues.

3. In a bed construction, a tubular supporting leg having at least two contiguous flat side walls disposed at right angle to each other. said side walls, each having a vertical slot therein, a pair of right angularly disposed horizontal rails hav ing straight ends respectively abutting the flat side walls, a locking plate iixedly secured to the inner side of each rail, each locking plate having a tongue portion extending beyond the straight end of its related rails, the tongues of the locking plates extending through the respective slots, and a single locking element slidably inserted downwardly through the tubular leg into locking engagement with both of said locking tongues.

4. A bed comprising, in combination, four tubular corner legs, each corner leg having dat contiguous right angularly disposed exterior surfaces, two adjacent of said surfaces having a vertical slotv therein, a .pair of side rails, a pair of end rails, each of said side and Aend. rals'havy ing` a. vertical riser portion and upper and lower nwardly'extending flange portions integral with the riserportion, the adjacent ends of a. side rail and an end rail flatly abutting thevangularly disposed exterior surfaces of a, corner leg, locking tongues carried :by the vertical riser portions of WILLIAM CHARLES BORNHUE'I'IER. 

